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Volume 34, Issue 3, July 2024

All hands on deck: the role of collaborative platforms and lead organizations in achieving environmental goals.

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Types of administrative burden reduction strategies: who, what, and how

Role distance. an ethnographic study on how street-level managers cope, shifts in local governments’ corporatization intensity: evidence from german cities, critical mass condition of majority bureaucratic behavioral change in representative bureaucracy: a theoretical clarification and a nonparametric exploration, a new measure of us public agency policy discretion, preference for group-based social hierarchy and the reluctance to accept women as equals in law enforcement, does administrative burden create racialized policy feedback how losing access to public benefits impacts beliefs about government, agency consultation networks in environmental impact assessment, adapting to organizational change in a public sector high-reliability context: the role of negative affect and normative commitment to change, email alerts.

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198 Public Administration Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best public administration topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 good essay topics on public administration, 📌 most interesting public administration topics to write about, ⭐ simple & easy public administration essay titles, 📑 good research topics about public administration, ❓ public administration essay questions.

• Why Study Public Administration? However, in order to qualify to be a public administrator in most senior posts in the government, one must possess a minimum of a master’s degree in public administration or business administration. In some cases, […]
• Benefits and Problems Associated With New Public Management to Public Administration in Relation to Policies The attempts of NPM to renovate the public sector through the use of managerial reforms that stress on improved productivity with regards to significance, quality of service offered to the public and efficiency does not […]
• Contributions of Max Weber’s Bureaucracy to Public Administration It will be argued in the discussion that the approach is characterized by hierarchical distribution of power and authority in both public and private sector organizations.
• Public Administration Theories as Developed by Frederick Winslow Taylor The reason scientific management became so popular amongst the managers was that this theory was able to answer the question on how to increase productivity by reducing the labor force which was consuming most of […]
• Disciplines of Public Administration and Public Policy Kettl and Fessler, note that public administration is a secondary field branching from the discipline of political science One of the major reasons for creating a separate discipline of public administration and graduate schools of […]
• Public Administration as an Academic Discipline As an academic discipline, public administration refers to the study of the development and implementation of such policies with the aim of enabling scholars to understand and apply such knowledge to their daily undertakings in […]
• Public Administration: Functions, Problems, and Educational Requirements With the help of such definition, it is not that difficult to identify the functions of public administration and clear up what the role of attorneys and prosecutors for society are.
• Culture and Public Administration Relationship in Canada Organizations in Canada can be characterized as ones who base their development on the principles not of the strong hierarchy and centralization, but on the possibilities for the communication and interaction on all the levels […]
• Public Administration Ethical Dilemma and Theories Smith should take the responsibility of ensuring that the needs of the majority are upheld since the welfare of the community, and the organization is of importance.
• Public Administration: The Ethical Challenges This case study of craftsmanship inspects the ethical implication of integrating the same principles of cultivating virtue and embracing collective values.
• Public Administration: Inferential Statistics RQ2: What is the effect of rule-following leadership on PSM and employee performance? RQ3: What is the effect of political loyalty leadership on PSM and employee performance?
• Professionalism and Ethics in Public Administration It is important to note that not always the practice of public administration focus on profits but the good of the public is always a mandatory interest of the practitioners of public administration.
• Diversity in Public Administration The following are the specific questions that the researcher seeks to answer through this study: How does a lack of diversity play a role in limited representation in public administration in the country?
• Public Personnel Administration’s Legal Challenges A credit is given to the public in the current society that has raised the bar for policymakers to perform a high level of productivity and quick actions in the public administration.
• Ethics in Public Administration The most convincing argument that proves that the new public management model does not pose a direct threat to the integrity of organizations deals with corruption.
• Public Administration Definition Some of the views can still be reconciled; for instance, it is claimed that public administration is primarily related to the executive branch of government, at the same time being related to the other two.
• Public Administration: Homeless in Phoenix Various models have been adopted to eradicate the problem, but the general formula to control the issue has been through the exclusion of the homeless from the main city as lepers into the territorial confinement […]
• Public Administration and E-Government The shift towards e-government has altered the structure of governments, the mode of government information transmission and decision making processes. Through benefits associated with e-governments; better, reliable, accurate and timely information and communication is spread […]
• Public Administration in the United States When the government is involved directly, it employs public members to serve as employees for the benefit of the general population, while indirect involvement of the government would be when the government hires private contractors […]
• Public Administration It is worth noting that such government operations determine the extent of success of the plans put in place to meet the needs of the public.
• Public Administration: Theory and Practice To avoid mistakes and differences of opinion, the application of adequate theoretical and practical methods is an essential attribute of successful work. The relevance of administration in the public sphere is due to a number […]
• Public Administration Theories and Approaches Any profession can be related to public administration in case it is associated with the provision of public services and networking.
• Public Administration Policies The response of public administration to the various social needs of the government has been effective, but what emerges from analysis of the concept of public administration is that choice of particular public policy is […]
• Gender Discrimination in Public Administration The subject of the dispute and the statement of claim was the vacancy of a traffic controller, which was initially offered to Johnson, but then, as part of the program, the place was given to […]
• Public Administration Study: Research Methodology Hypothesis two would be: some sections of the government Laws are not clear to allow non-profit organizations participation in the policy-making process.
• Ethics in Public Administration: Case 2 – Paul’s Scenario Only combining the three traditional ethical approaches and acting in accordance to the ethics triangle, the mayor could achieve the greatest good for the greater number.
• Ethics in Public Administration: Duncan Hunter’s Case Misuse of public funds due to personal and greedy intentions at the expense of the society that has entrusted you as a public administrator or a representative is a move that contradicts administration ethics.
• The U.S. Researched Public Administration Case Study It is essential to note that social inequity, in particular, challenges the ethical values and moral code of residents of the United States and the entire planet from the point of view of discrimination and […]
• Public Administration in Denmark The overarching goal of the digitalization process described in the case study was to improve the communication among the vital stakeholders, directly connecting politicians and citizens.
• Pro-Social Rule-Breaking in Public Administration This paper, therefore, discusses pro-social rule-breaking, when it is ethical for public administrators to dissent, and some of the problems it might cause.
• Implementation of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Public Administration In public administration, the term diversity, equity, and inclusion refers to programs and policies which encourage the participation and representation of distinct groups of people by considering the inclusion of distinct races, religion, age, culture, […]
• The Standard Deviation in Public Administration The standard deviation is the measure of dispersion that indicates the closeness of the data cluster to the mean. In general, it is defined as “the number of standard deviations a score of interest lies […]
• Forum: The Future of Public Administration Despite changes to labor costs and protections, it is fair to anticipate governmental agencies in the U.S.to be model employers. Therefore, despite extra expenses and changes to protections, expecting agencies in the U.S.government system to […]
• Public Administration Challenges and Societal Changes A societal change in the quality of life is most likely to happen, and the public administration’s task is to strengthen socially significant development.
• Public Administration: The Rational Model Consequently, it leads to the limitation of the scientific and societal views on the role and character of the individual in society to their industrial function and the connivance of their rights and freedoms in […]
• How Political Ideas Impact Public Administration The government and its citizens uphold the rule of law; therefore, everybody is equally accountable to the country’s laws as outlined in the constitution.
• Improving Public Administration in the US In contrast to NPR, the main focus of this research is on social issues and a general retrospective on the long-lasting consequences of the crisis at the beginning of the 21st century.
• Evaluation of Agency’s Public Personnel Administration It is intended to maintain the competitive employment marketplace, prevent violation of the mentioned provisions, and ensure that HR professionals are in the best position to comply with the hiring practices of a particular company.
• Public Administration in the Progressive Era In the context of this video lies the idea that progressives fought for the rights of certain groups of people who were once deprived of them, the struggle for justice and for the eradication of […]
• Public Administration: Presenting the Future of Healthcare In the U.S. the administrative political system has one of the highest numbers of veto points, which combined with ideology makes healthcare policy exceptionally slow.
• “Repositioning American Public Administration?” by Durant & Ali First of all, Durant and Ali make two major points about the American public administration system: that it was designed in a way that facilitates estrangement in the early 20th century and that later attempts […]
• Public Administration: Progressive, Associational, and Polycentric Reforms One of the strongest points in the article is the authors’ intentions to describe the tendencies, but not to demonstrate their own opinions and attitudes to the approaches.
• Popularity of Quantitative Methods in Public Administration For investigation of the attitude of the respondents to the educational reforms, it is necessary to include different types of questions into the list to be answered.
• Structure of Public Administration After the elections, vested interests resume control of the government, greatly reducing the number of policies passed with the interest of the electorate.
• United Arab Emirate Education: Public Administration Challenges The United Nations is trying to address the issue of Higher Education provision in the United Arab Emirates. To meet this issue perfectly, a simultaneous approach is necessary to identify and address relevant issues within […]
• Ethics in Public Administration: Company vs. City The interested list in the Woodbee development plan is the people who are the residents who will be the major beneficiary of the jobs created by the company.
• Public Administration: Unemployment Economic Impact The “official” unemployment rate is released by the U. S government is not a correct reflection of the actual state of unemployment in the nation.
• The Impact of Political and Economic Forces on Public Program Administration Political forces are the pressure groups that constitute the different organizations that are involved in the agreement and transactions of the political affairs of the society in question; personalities that participate in the running of […]
• Public Administration and Bureaucracy Three decades ago, political theories of political control of bureaucracy underwent complete transformation; shifting from the paradigm that emphasizes the extreme difficulty with which electoral institutions have in controlling the massive powers of the federal […]
• Problems in Public Administration The described case reveals the significant demerit in the system of public administration, as the scheme of rank transfer is absolutely incomplete, as the reconfirmation and the appointment of the other person on the heading […]
• The Public Administration Evaluation Process Second, the rising awareness of the ‘human feature’ of administration is an area of interest in public administration because the administration is concerned with the behaviors of people in the public environment and the psychology […]
• Public Administration and Core Values The author has organized his paper as a set of questions that seek to address this matter in a comprehensible way.
• Political Regimes and Public Administration in Canada The better parts of the legislatures are inflexible but permit very little flexibility from the prevailing regime sources such as the military and churches.
• Public Administration Ethical Issues: Fire Service In the course of the investigation, we come to the conclusion that regardless of the fact that the fire departments work and the public of administration are given significant attention, there are still such problems […]
• Public Administration Reforms in the United Arab Emirates From the standpoint of public administration, the adoption of e-government is now an inevitable and unquestioned objective because it signifies a shift towards a new, customer-oriented management paradigm and has the goal of reducing costs […]
• Ethica Behavior and Trust in Public Administration The hierarchy of ethics refers to a set of principles that govern decision-making and operations in the public sector. The administrators have to guarantee that they safeguard public property and exercise their powers in line […]
• Non-Profit and Public Administration Organizations The following literature review explores the evidence of the relevance of the approach for non-profit and public administration organizations, reviews the current methods of assessment, looks into the role of IT as a factor, and […]
• Recreation Zones and Public Administration Issues The recreation and parks department, the functions of which the committee is going to limit, should be defended by the public. I guess that people should not be deprived of the opportunity to participate in […]
• Effective Public Administration Personnel Public administration is concerned with the implementation of government policies and management of the behavior of non-elected officials before they are inaugurated to work in the public service.
• Centralia Mine Disaster and Public Administration Failure Scanlan, who was the district inspector at the time, identified the hazards surrounding the coal mines and reported his findings about a possible explosion to other relevant professionals. Scanlan should not have taken heed to […]
• Government’s Role in Healthcare Financing: Public Health Financing and Administration The paper discusses the historical background of healthcare financing and the roles of the government in allocating resources. The role of the government comes in to redistribute resources carefully to balance the economic and social […]
• Public Administration Model in the UAE It can be assumed that the current situation concerning the threat of a culture clash and the assimilation of the UAE people to the European and American cultural standards represents the major hindrance to the […]
• Public Administration Theories in the UAE Context Public administration theories and claims that are important to be discussed in the context of the development of the public sector in the U.A.E.are associated with privatisation or contracting out and with the improvement of […]
• Public Administration: Bertelli’s and Riggs’ Views In this kind of oversight, members of the public, the media and other interest groups ensure that elected officials offer desirable services by constantly reporting on elements of their performance that do not meet expectations.
• The UAE’s Public Administration System The UAE is one of the most developed countries of the East that is why it is possible to analyze it.
• Culture Clash in the UAE’s Public Administration In other words, an impressive culture clash can be observed within the realm of the UAE public administration and is to be resolved as soon as possible so that the residents of the state could […]
• Legal Change in Public Safety Administration In 1970, the Congress enacted the Clean Air Act as the first significant federal environmental laws to ensure clean air. The law allows the Environmental Protection Agency to introduce the National Ambient Air Quality Standards […]
• William Deming’s Contribution to Public Administration A significant argument made by Deming was that “85% of the problem is in the system and 15% in the people”.
• Public Administration: Community Projects When the government came to renovate the community project, none of the community members was involved in the renovation process. Government’s failure to involve community members in the renovation process led to building a facility […]
• Public Administration: Union Gospel Mission Apart from collecting donations from well-wishers and churches to feed, cloth and provide shelter for thousands of the poor people, the Union Gospel Mission of Vancouver’s program can be redesigned in such a way that […]
• Public Administration: Fire Department in America Through the modernization of fire-fighting equipment and the emerging need to have state-funded firefighting departments, Boston emerged as the first city in America to have a state-funded firefighting department.
• Public Administration: National Park Service The rangers of all times had the same basic functions and purposes to protect and patrol the lands belonging to their country. The task of the National Park Service is to preserve the beauty of […]
• Public Administration and Administrative Law The laws of the land define boundaries in which public administrators offer guidance, as well as the roles of the citizens in the decision making process.
• Public Administration Theories The most important theories in the field of Public Administration have their foundation in the areas of bureaucracy as well as epistemological issues related to the academic and profession in the public service.
• Public Administration in Theory Public administration theorists noted that it was crucial to analyze a variety of aspects to be able to come up with effective strategies to make the government effective.
• Public Administration Operations The state legislature merit program is an effective approach to allocating awards; this means that the terms of allocating the awards should be specific when outlining the criteria for those who qualify for the merit […]
• Influence of Government Paradigms on Public Accountability: Public Administration and Network Governance The focus of public administration on adoption of mechanisms for ensuring that government is accountable to the client underlines the change of public administration systems from being bureaucratic.
• Public Administration Issue: Police Brutality The trend is ongoing and is not expected to end any time soon because of the social structure and the culture that does not value the contributions of minorities and people of color.
• Public Administration: Anthony Downs, Aaron Wildavsky and Herbert Kaufman It is necessary to point out that Downs contributed greatly to the development of the public administration theory as he revealed major stages of bureaus existence.
• Public Administration: Solutions for a Crisis Situation The use of this approach could be beneficial for the department in question as it would lead to the necessary change and creation of the appropriate atmosphere.
• Period of Change for the US Public Administration To sum up, it is possible to note that Katz and Kahn were some of the most influential theorists of public administration in the 1960-1970s.
• Development of the Theory of Public Administration He noted that it was essential to analyze the process of decision-making to enable public administrators to function effectively. It was acknowledged that public administrators needed motivation and leadership to ensure effective work of the […]
• Post-War Public Administration Theorists Post-war period can be regarded as the time when theorists of public administration rejected scientific methods and strategies to enhance effectiveness of the US government. The theorist noted that business management can be used in […]
• Theories of Public Administration Essay In the middle of the twentieth century, sociologists and theorists of public administration focused on imperfections of the government. Maslow contributed greatly to the development of public administration.
• Public Administration Between the 1930s and 1950s One of the most significant theorists that contributed greatly to the development of the field of public administration was Luther Gulick.
• Weekly Journal: Public Administration Thus, Wilson, Goodnow, Addams and Taylor are some of the most influential theorists who made a profound contribution to the development of the public administration.
• Accountability in Public Administration A consideration is also given to discuss the people whom public officials are accountable to, and the most effective means of ensuring a balance between the demands for accountability and the need to have high-performing […]
• Public Administration: Government and Governance The three arms of the government have the responsibility of managing the affairs of the country. The main aim of the three arms of the government is to offer checks and balances to avoid cases […]
• New Technologies and Globalization: Public Administration The continual growth and implementation of e-government and especially e-democracy has proven to be instrumental in governance in the current age.
• Communication in Public Administration System The channels used in communication process in the public administration system vary depending on the total number of population it connects to the information flow character. The process of managing communication in public administration has […]
• The Contributions of Anthony Downs’ “The Inside of Bureaucracy” to Public Administration Bureau-Structure goals: entails the values of officials with regard to the design of constitution of the bureaus to which the officials belong4.
• Public Administration: Conceptual Study The Philadelphia Municipal Wireless Network is a perfect example of the initiative that involves ‘collaborative public management’ with the interest of the public, private sector and the economy as a whole to benefit.
• DOD Policy on Social Media Concerning Military Members and Government Public Administration In the current era of digital technology, the government has a duty of ensuring that the department of defense policy on social media addresses the use of invented technologies of communication within and outside the […]
• Public Administration as an Interdisciplinary Field: Assessing Its Relationship With the Fields of Law, Management, and Political Science Bradley Wright, the author the article, provides both theoretical and practical views on the discussed issues to understand the influence of other disciplines on public administration.
• Article Synopsys on Public Administration In the article, the author presents a well-planned presentation of arguments and approaches used to assert the validity and reliability of facts.
• Summary of Article on Public Administration The work in question is a theoretical analysis of problems in the sphere of public administration dedicated to the problems of morality and ethics.
• The American Review of Public Administration Early childhood education is the epicenter of the analysis, with the active integration of third parties in the public platform being one of the major emphases.
• Review on the Discipline of Public Administration The objective of this research paper is to describe the rationale of creating a separate discipline of public administration and the creation of graduate schools of public policy, whether public administrators should matriculate in a […]
• Issue on Public Administration; Social Equity The higher the economic gap among the people the lower is the country in terms of development. On the other hand, the smaller the gap among the people the higher is the level of development.
• New Public Management Can Be Considered to Be Both a Panacea and a Plague to Public Administration A major reason for the decline of NPM is that these practices were entirely brought to public sector without a clear understanding of differences that exist in public and private sectors. To begin with there […]
• Public Administration in America: Grants to Help Homeless In an effort to solve the homelessness issue, the municipal council of the city in conjunction with other governmental and non-governmental agencies concerned had the goal of eliminating homelessness in the city by the year […]
• Public Administration and Private Business There is an argument that the main aim of public administration is to enact public policies while the aim of private business is to ensure that owners and shareholders increase their wealth and net worth.
• Public Administration Officers This means that public should not use their authority to oppress people but instead they should use it for the betterment of the public.
• The Constitution in Public Administration: A Report on Education The constitution should be the overall law that governs issues and management of public institutions; in some instances, the constitution may have some bureaucracy that hinders efficiency among public administrators however it is normative that […]
• Introduction of Information Technology to Canadian Public Administration At this stage, the director of information technology is to introduce the information system technology as a new concept to the city.
• Introduction to Canadian Public Administration: Solving the Current Issues and Improving the System Clockwork To start with, it is doubtful that one can handle the responsibilities of both the Merit Commissioner and the PSERC Commissioner.
• Public Policy Administration in Modern Society Public policy administration can be defined as “the implementation of government policies, based on the expert analysis and the resolution of specific issues that generally have far-reaching impact on the citizens who live under the […]
• ‘The Etiology of Administrative Evil: Eric Voegelin and the Unconsciousness of Modernity’, in American Review of Public Administration, vol.31, no.3, September, 2001, pp.296-312. In this, the importance of Voegelin’s work, is given suitable merit, and more than this, in presenting his ideas alongside similar ethical and philosophical approaches, the author, does strengthen the arguments for broadening and deepening […]
• Traditional Public Administration vs. The New Public Management: Accountability vs. Efficiency
• Cloud Computing and Public Administration
• What Challenges Does the Traditional Public Administration Encounter in a Changing Public Sector Environment?
• Democracy and Public Administration
• The Importance of Ethics in Public Administration
• Cooperation Between the Public Administration and Commercial Institutions
• Urban Planning and Public Administration
• Business Administration vs Public Administration: Similarities and Differences
• The US New Public Administration
• Key Figures in the History of Public Administration
• Challenges of Modern Public Administration and Ethical Decision-Making
• Effective Public Administration for a Mid-Sized Space Power: Comparison of Canada and the United States
• The Big Questions Facing Public Administration
• War and the Effects on Public Administration and Its Agencies
• Bulgarian Public Administration Facing the Challenges of the Expanding European Administrative Space
• Web and Social Media: A New Opportunity for the Public Administration in the Relationship With the Citizen
• Computerization, Accounting Transparency and Competitiveness of Public Administration
• Human Resource Reforms in Public Administration
• The Role of Diversity in Public Administration
• Establishment Size, Public Administration and Government Wage Differentials
• Public Administration in America
• Improvement of Public Administration Based on Human Rights
• Local Public Administration Reform: The Romanian Case
• Democracy, Human Rights and Public Administration
• Psychosocial Issues in Public Administration
• Contrasting Public Administration With New Public Management
• Academic Goals and Interest in Public Administration
• Significant Issues Within Public Administration
• Enhancing the Capacity for Innovation of Public Administration
• Development Through Positive Deviance and Its Implications for Economic Policy Making and Public Administration in Africa
• Good Union and Public Administration
• Implementing Meritocracy in Senior Public Administration
• Leadership Within Public Administration
• Public Administration in a Global Context: Bridging the Gaps of Theory and Practice Between Western and Non-Western Nations
• Theories and Concepts of Public Administration
• Human Resource Management in Public Administration: Key Challenges
• New Technologies and Globalization: Public Administration
• Ethics and Integrity in Public Administration Concepts and Cases
• Communication and Public Administration
• Public Administration vs Management: What Is the Difference?
• Inclusion and Diversity in Public Administration
• Comparative Public Administration and Globalization
• Local Law Enforcement and Public Administration
• Economics and Public Administration
• Codes of Ethics and Public Administration
• The Reassessment of the Traditional Approach of Auditing Within Public Administration
• Budgeting and Public Administration
• Institutional Communication and Organizational Culture in Romanian Public Administration
• Strategic Management in Public Administration
• Public Administration vs. Political Science
• What Is the Era of Challenge in Public Administration?
• How Far Henri Fayol’s Principle of Management Is Relevant to Contemporary Public Administration?
• What Is the New Role of Public Administration in Modern Society?
• Is Public Administration an Art or Science?
• What Are the Traditional Approaches to Public Administration?
• How Are the Principles of Public Administration of Kautilya’s Arthashashtra Relevant in Modern Public Administration?
• What Are the Differences Between Traditional Public Administration and New Public Management?
• How Do Politics Affect Public Administration?
• What Are the Key Concepts of Ethics in Public Administration?
• Why Is Public Administration Important in Developing Countries?
• Could Public Administration Ever Be Totally Separate From Politics?
• What Are the Core Values of Public Administration?
• How Is Philosophy Related to Public Administration?
• What Is the Most Important Function of Public Administration?
• How Does Public Administration Borrow Ideas From Other Disciplines?
• What Are the Stages in the Evolution of Public Administration?
• How Could Electronics and Communication Engineering Be Useful in Public Administration?
• Why Is Emotional Intelligence Important in Public Administration?
• What Are the Principles of Successful Public Administration?
• How Is Business Administration Different From Public Administration?
• What Is the Role of the Public Administration in Public Policy?
• What Is the Golden Era of Public Administration?
• How Is Public Administration Associated With Science?
• Which Is the Oldest Approach in Public Administration?
• What Is the Behavioral Approach in Public Administration?
• How Is International Public Administration Related to Domestic Public Administration?
• What Is the Role of Public Administration in Bureaucracy?
• Who Is the Father of Public Administration?
• How Is Social Psychology Relevant to Public Administration?
• What Is the Relationship Between Public Administration and Sociology?
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Tips on Choosing a Topic

Choose a topic.

Choosing a topic does not seem like it should be difficult. Unfortunately, it often is.

Choosing a right topic can often make the entire process much easier. This can be done if you follow these steps.

1. Pick a topic that interests you.

The topics we can choose are often dictated by assignments, classes, professors, etc. But, find a topic you like will make the process more rewarding.

If you have an open-ended assignment, browsing the databases listed below can help you decide on a topic by giving you a jumping off point. They also have the added benefit of suggesting many different resources once your topic is found:

• CQ Researcher This database publishes reports that provide overviewed, background information, opinion pieces, and lots of references for a large collection of topics. A really great place to start, if you aren’t certain what’s out there.
• Opposing Viewpoints in Context Much like CQ Researcher, this database provides overviews, media, background information, and lots of references on specific topics that are known to be in the public eye. A great place to browse for topics, or to find out more about one you’re considering.
• Google News or Yahoo News – specific topics Google or Yahoo news can show you topics that are currently being discussed. It can be a good place to start.

2. Find information on your topic.

You may find a topic like "Obesity" or "Fracking" interesting enough to write about, but not know very much beyond what you've noticed in the news.

That's okay! Even for subjects that you feel that you know a lot about, it's hugely beneficial to get background information. That's where encyclopedias and other reference materials come in. You can use them to discover definitions, general trends, subtopics, and other items of interest about the subject you are interested in. Once this information is gathered, you can use it conduct more effective research.

Didn't think you'd see this here, did you?

Wikipedia is a really good example of a reference source: a place you go when you want to see what something is. Just like many other encyclopedias, it can give you a basic overview, related topics, and even a brief history of your subject. However, because pages can be edited by anyone (your mom, your little brother, your nosy neighbor down the street), there’s a risk that someone has messed around with the information and it’s completely wrong . On top of that, you can’t cite it. So feel free to use it, but make sure you use it wisely.

• Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVR) Imagine this as Wikipedia’s older, more reliable sibling, the one you can count on to not exaggerate or just plain lie. It works the same way, but people who have definitely done their research are the ones writing the entries. What’s more, unlike Wikipedia, most instructors will allow materials from GVR to be cited in your assignment. Information isn’t worth very much if you can’t use it!
• Oxford Reference Online , and Sage Reference Online Just like the GVR, but from different publishers.

Now that you’ve done your background research, your topic should be shaping itself more clearly to you. It can help at this point to create a concept or mind map that demonstrates the interconnected aspects of the topic and how they relate to each other.

It’s now that you need to take the aspects of the topic that are of most interest to you, and form them into a question that your research assignment will answer. This question will guide your research forward, helping you to stay focused and relevant.

3. Create a research question.

When the time comes to do the bulk of your research, three different things can happen with your results.

It’s not pleasant to be on the verge of writing a paper or script, only to find that your topic is too new, obscure, narrow, or broad to find enough supporting research to complete. So it’s important to try it out, and to change your topic, if you find yourself with too many, too few, or irrelevant results.

Some good general tools to try a preliminary search in are:

• LIONSearch This tool is a single interface to the combined resources provided by the Penn State University Libraries. What that means is that LIONSearch covers almost everything that the library has access to, both print and digital collections. The Google of the library, if you will.
• Academic Search Complete Comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 5,300 full-text periodicals - in other words, lots of great stuff!
• The CAT This is the library’s traditional catalog, but it doesn’t only search books. Ebooks, videos, journals, and many other types of media can be found here as well

While you’re searching, if you find a few articles or books that you really like, use the GET IT! button

Example questions might be:

• How has the obesity epidemic affected Native communities in the United States?
• How has the economy of North Dakota been affected by fracking?

As you can see, these questions take specific aspects of the broader topics of “obesity” and “fracking,” and narrows them both into focused queries that a thesis statement then begin to answer.

5. Broaden or narrow your topic as needed.

If during your test search, you found too many or too few results, you may need to either narrow, or broaden your topic to make it more manageable.

• To narrow your topic, consider making it more specific. Focus on one aspect of your topic. This can include geographical area, culture, time frame, discipline, and population group (age, gender, ethnic group, profession, etc).
• To broaden your topic, consider backing away from your more specific descriptors. Topics that are very narrow are often locally confined, recent, or focusing on very specific aspects of a larger whole (eg. Lady Gaga vs. Pop Music). 

If you're having any difficulty with this step, or any other, feel free to Ask a Librarian .

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• Last Updated: Jul 29, 2024 12:37 PM
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This research guide seeks to give you a first overview of library resources relevant to your research in public policy and public administration. 

If you are new to the topic, start with surveys provided in specialized handbooks and encyclopedias  and bibliographies and literature reviews . Once you have become more familiar with the extant scholarship, move on to in-depth research in research databases , leading public policy journals , and, of course, a treasure trove of books available through Harvard Library. 

Depending on your specific area of interest, you may also want to consult Harvard Library-subscribed directories of government institutions and policymakers or brush up on research methods for public policy analysis.  

Last but not least, check out news coverage , including  podcasts , on current issues in wide array of public policy areas. 

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Public Administration

• Choosing a Topic

Where do I start?

Brainstorming resources, formulate a research question using context, try concept mapping.

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Many times, your instructor will assign a project for which you will choose a topic. Often, this can be just as difficult as preparing for an assigned topic. There is so much information out there. How do you begin to choose?

This guide will help you answer that question by providing tips and tutorials for selecting a paper topic that both you and your instructor will find interesting and beneficial for the course.

Techniques for coming up with a paper topic include

• WHY  did you choose the topic?  What interests you about it?  Do you have an opinion about the issues involved?  
• WHO  are the information providers on this topic?  Who might publish information about it?  Who is affected by the topic?  Do you know of rganizations or institutions affiliated with the topic?  
• WHAT  are the major questions for this topic?  Is there a debate about the topic?  Are there a range of issues and viewpoints to consider?  
• WHERE  is your topic important: at the local, national or international level?  Are there specific places affected by the topic?  
• WHEN  is/was your topic important?  Is it a current event or an historical issue?  Do you want to compare your topic by time periods?

(MITLibraries )

• Brainstorming (Univ of North Carolina)
• Introduction to Prewriting (Purdue OWL)
• Prewriting Techniques (Defiance College)

The table above illustrates how a research question develops from a broad topic to a focused research question . A concept map should help you identify a sub-topic and possible issues or problems . Preliminary research will provide some context to help you consider a possible research question.

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23rd Session Documentation

Programme of work   ( as of 12 April 2024 )

Remarks by H.E. Paula Narváez, President, UN Economic and Social Council

Remarks by Mr. Navid Hanif, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs

Item 2: Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters

Annotated provisional agenda (E/C.16/2024/1) Arabic  |  Chinese  |  English  |  French  |  Russian  |  Spanish

Economic and Social Council draft decision on the provisional agenda for the 23 rd  session of CEPA Arabic  |  Chinese  |  English  |  French  |  Russian  |  Spanish

Item 3: Institutional aspects of the theme of the 2024 session of the Economic and Social Council and the 2024 high-level political forum on sustainable development

New governance insights to advance the Sustainable Development Goals and eradicate poverty (E/C.16/2024/2) Arabic  |  Chinese  |  English  |  French  |  Russian  |  Spanish

Conference room paper on progress on budgeting for the Sustainable Development Goals

Conference room paper on FutureGov: building public sector capabilities for the future

Other inputs

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Item 4: Peer exchange with voluntary national review countries and voluntary local review cities on experiences and promising practices in implementing Sustainable Development Goals 16 and 17

Remarks by H.E. Mr. Ulvi Mehdiyev, Chairman of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Presentation by Mr. Tomonori Hiroike, Director for Planning and Coordination, Office of the Governor for Policy Planning, and Mr. Tetsuro Fujisaki, Director for Tsukiji Development Promotion, Urban Development, Tokyo Metropolitan Government

Regulating and reforming the insurance industry to combat climate change and accelerate implementation of the 2030 Agenda (E/C.16/2024/3) Arabic  |  Chinese  |  English  |  French  |  Russian  |  Spanish

Presentation by Ms. Soonae Park

Presentation by Mr. Shen Wang, Senior Research Fellow, Green Development Institute

Presentation by Mr. Thomas Njeru, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Pula Advisors

Philippine Society for Public Administration

United Nations Human Settlements Programme

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

United Nations University — Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability

University of the Philippines National College of Public Administration and Governance  

Item 6: Principles of effective governance for sustainable development

Building inclusive institutions that leave no one behind at the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (E/C.16/2024/4) Arabic  |  Chinese  |  English  |  French  |  Russian  |  Spanish

Presentation by Ms. Najat Zarrouk and Ms. Sherifa Sherif

Remarks by Hon. Mr. Jan Van Zanen, Mayor of The Hague and member of the Presidency of United Cities and Local Governments (prerecorded) 

African Peer Review Mechanism

Centre Africain de Recherche Industrielle  

Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration 

Life Maker Meeting Place Organization

Ministry of Digital Transition and reform of Administration, Kingdom of Morocco

Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled

South Asian Network for Public Administration

Women’s Health and Education Center

Item 7: Public sector workforce matters

Insights into public sector workforce governance to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (E/C.16/2024/5) Arabic  |  Chinese  |  English  |  French  |  Russian  |  Spanish

Presentation by Ms. Najat Zarrouk ( English , French )

Remarks by Mr. Luis Miguel Martínez Anzures, President, Board of Directors, National Institute of Public Administration of Mexico 

Presentation by Mr. Daniel Rogger, Research Manager, Governance and Institution Building, Development Impact Department, World Bank

Presentation by Mr. Daniel Gerson, Lead, Public Employment and Management, Directorate for Public Governance, OECD 

Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration  

Public Service Hall, Georgia

University of Economics in Katowice, Poland

Item 8: Public financial management

Accelerating public financial management reform to reinforce the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and eradicate poverty in times of multiple crises (E/C.16/2024/6) Arabic  |  Chinese  |  English  |  French  |  Russian  |  Spanish

Remarks by Ms. Raquel Ferreira, Network Director, Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency 

International Institute of Administrative Sciences

University of Antioquia, Colombia

Item 9: Digital government

Artificial intelligence governance to reinforce the 2030 Agenda and leave no one behind (E/C.16/2024/7) Arabic  |  Chinese  |  English  |  French  |  Russian  |  Spanish

Presentation by Ms. Sherifa Sherif and Mr. Carlos Santiso

Presentation by Mr. Audace Niyonkuru, Chief Executive Officer, Digital Umuganda and Co-Facilitator, Internet Governance Forum policy network on articifical intelligence

Presentation by Mr. Conrado Ramos, Secretary-General, Centro Latinoamericano de Administración para el Desarrollo 

Remarks by Ms. Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO (prerecorded)   

Instituto Nacional de Administración Publica (Spain) 

Item 10: Institution-building in fragile and conflict-affected areas

Sound public financial management in fragile and conflict-affected settings to eradicate poverty in all its forms (E/C.16/2024/8) Arabic  |  Chinese  |  English  |  French  |  Russian  |  Spanish

Other inputs 

Babatunde Development and Empowerment Initiative

YouthBuild Sierra Leone

Item 11: Dedicated consultation with observers

New governance insights to advance the SDGs and eradicate poverty (input on agenda item 3)

Ms. Dubravka Bojic, Programme Officer, Governance and Policy Support Unit, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Institutions, climate action and environment (input on agenda item 5) Ms. Sofie Sandstrom Jaffe, Permanent Observer to the United Nations, International Union for Conservation of Nature 

Public sector workforce matters (input on agenda item 7) 

Ms. Sixta Dilia Zuñiga Lindao, President, National Civil Service Commission, Colombia

Public financial management (input on agenda item 8)

Mr. Jean-Paul Adam, Director, Division for Policy, Monitoring and Global Advocacy, Office of the Special Adviser on Africa

Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs 2 UN Plaza, DC2-17 Floor New York, NY 10017 United States @email

• Search Search

Teaching public policy research skills to tomorrow’s leaders

When students learn the fundamentals of public policy research, they also acquire tools to evaluate how institutions operate and how those same tools can be used to solve problems in their communities. This blended learning approach can level up these skills

Christopher Kromphardt

.css-76pyzs{margin-right:0.25rem;} ,, mark anthoney, cassidy branch.

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.css-1txxx8u{overflow:hidden;max-height:81px;text-indent:0px;} Can we really decolonise the university?

Universities need to act now to bridge the gen z gap, school visits are a triple-win for academics, schools and society, why visible senior leadership in sustainability matters, why the search for research funding is like romance.

College students increasingly need to understand the role that data plays in public policy decisions as they seek to be engaged participants in civic life . As it turns out, most Americans agree with us that an awareness of how data-driven research affects policymaking can prepare young people for the future. Nearly 80 per cent of respondents within each generation – from the Silent Generation to Gen Z – agree that young people should be provided with “training to help them understand the political system or solve problems in their communities”, according to a January 2024 PRRI survey .

What do young people learn when they are trained in the fundamentals of public policy research ? First, they come to know the structure of the political system through its important public policymaking institutions. They also acquire policy research tools to evaluate how these institutions operate; later, these same tools can be used to solve problems in their communities.

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We combined our team’s expertise in public policy research and instructional design to facilitate a six-week fully online summer policy research institute (SPRI) at the University of Iowa from 2020 to 2022. The SPRI’s purpose was to train any university student, regardless of their experience or location, in how research supports public policy and about key mindsets and practices associated with public policy research.

A blended learning institute for training young people

The SPRI combined multiple learning methods, such as asynchronous online lessons combined with live sessions. The SPRI’s blend, described as “bi-chronous” online learning, involved asynchronous and synchronous online approaches . Participants were required to participate in two hours of synchronous/live classes and at least one hour of asynchronous learning per week. Students were encouraged to spend more time, but three hours was the minimum .

SPRI’s blend was informed by best practices in instructional design . First, we used backwards design to define learning objectives before developing learning experiences. The SPRI’s learning objectives and content align with the Entering Research (ER) conceptual framework, a popular approach for research trainees’ development . We tackled six core topics: research ethics , research communication , research team roles and responsibilities, research design, qualitative research methods, and quantitative research methods.

Second, we struck a balance between asynchronous and synchronous online learning experiences. Each week, students completed a custom-built asynchronous learning module – which consisted of curated readings, videos (original and from YouTube) and quizzes – followed by a synchronous active-learning session held over Zoom. For the live sessions, we adapted ER content and developed original content to be delivered by instructors and guest speakers associated with our university’s Public Policy Center, whose expertise ranged broadly across areas including health, education and criminal justice policy. One example of a training activity we facilitated was the “three-minute research story” ER activity to practise strategies for communication about technical subjects . In weekly synchronous “sharing sessions”, students delivered short presentations describing a policy research project of their choosing. Finally, several students published policy briefs they had coauthored with faculty mentors on the centre’s website.

This balance illustrates how our blend used scaffolded activities to support and enhance learning. After starting with fundamental understandings of core research and public policy concepts, we advanced to real-world applications. We devoted special attention to supporting learning transfer; we took students step by step towards how to apply information gleaned from the SPRI within directed research experiences.

Evaluating using a blended approach to teaching public policy research

Given the six-week timeline and the diversity of our participants’ backgrounds and experience levels, we sought evidence that showed the SPRI had achieved its learning objectives.

One metric of the SPRI’s success is its alignment with learning science principles. Our approach to integrating videos, readings and quizzes with structured live sessions drew on insights from the learning sciences. We worked to guide students as they formed connections with new information that expanded on their prior knowledge (building associations) to present content in both words and visuals (dual coding) and to organise information into manageable units (chunking). Also, we worked to stimulate deep mental processing, where meaningful learning took place through activities such as reflection , discussions, debates and receiving expert feedback . Here, it’s important to note that success in blended learning may require instructors to embrace student-centred, active learning designs, as opposed to an instructor-centred, content-driven approach.

We also used the ER learning assessment to evaluate how students perceived their learning gains. They reported consistent moderate or better gains across the ER learning objectives. Students reported greatest average gains in research ethics and equity and inclusion awareness and skills , followed by research comprehension and communication skills; researcher confidence and independence; practical research skills, and researcher identity. Our students also reported that, on average, they were very likely to recommend the SPRI to another student and were more likely to continue research after SPRI.

Overall, this evidence suggests that SPRI is a model that others can use to prepare students for the future. Through public policy research, young people develop the skills to understand the political system and solve problems in their communities.

Chris Kromphardt is assistant programme director and lecturer in data analytics and policy at Johns Hopkins University. He held previous positions in the Public Policy Center and department of educational policy and leadership studies at the University of Iowa.

Mark Anthoney is lead instructional designer in distance and online education, and Cassidy Branch is interim manager of research services in the Public Policy Center, both at the University of Iowa.

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• Document disclosed for public review pdf (6.2 MB)

Disclosed for public review - Environmental and Social Impact Assessment

Document disclosed for public review

August 9, 2024

09, August 2024  - The Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB) Management project has been implementing in partnership with Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) Ethiopia Electric Power (EEP), Ethiopia Electric Utility (EEU), and Ethio- Engineering Group (EEG). The project is designed to support Ethiopia with the necessary technical and financial assistance to reduce the risks proposed by PCBs to the environment and human health and to meet the 2025 Stockholm Convention deadline.  

The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) has been conducted to identify, analyse and mitigate adverse impact impacts of the project during PCBs material collection, transportation, treatment and disposal. The assessment has focused on Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) in Adama District, Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) at Awash Melkas Power generation plant and Ethio-engineering groups (EEG) Tatek Transformer Factory at Sheger City Administration PCB temporary storage facilities. 

The assessment identified both positive and negative environmental and social impacts and proposed mitigation measures. The project has significant positive impacts through decreasing the health impacts of PCBs to the community, enable Ethiopia to comply its obligations under the Stockholm Convention, decrease the environmental and health impacts of PCBs and create employment opportunity and income generation.  

Despite its benefits at local, national and regional levels, the project could also result in several negative impacts during the construction, operation and decommissioning phase of the project activities, therefore, for those identified adverse impacts the required mitigation measures have proposed to be implemented by the service provider/contractor and implementing partners. 

The draft Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) report is accessible below for public review and comments. The review period will end on 09 September 2024.

If you have any questions or comments, please email us at: [email protected]   

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